Hossein Balapour cleared of gym assault charges
Hossein Balapour, also known as Yakiboy to his 235,000 followers, smiled as he walked free after a court cleared him of charges of assault.
A muscled-up and heavily-tattooed Instagram celebrity has been cleared of attacking a man outside a Sydney gym.
Police alleged Hossein Balapour, 29, known as Yakiboy to his 235,000 online followers, set upon Raymond Carl, 58, who had got into a verbal spat with his wife Cherish Balapour at the Waterloo gym on December 1.
Mrs Balapour told Downing Centre Local Court on Friday that she had phoned her husband after Mr Carl abused her while waiting to use a piece of gym equipment.
“It was just (something) like, f*** you bitch … and when I turned to him, I said you don’t need to speak to me like that, and when he continued swearing — that’s when I called my husband,” she said.
“I felt like he was intimidating me by having his presence there, like hurry up bitch, get off the machine — that’s what I felt like.”
What happened next when Mr Balapour arrived outside the gym on Broome Street was in dispute but police alleged Mr Carl was assaulted in an altercation.
However, defence lawyer Tom Hughes argued Mr Carl had smirked while giving evidence and that his answers were “riddled with inconsistencies”.
“He was running with it, this man, he thought it was all terribly amusing, I’m sorry to say,” Mr Hughes said.
Magistrate Carolyn Huntsman said she could not accept beyond reasonable doubt that an assault occurred and dismissed the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against Mr Balapour.
“I just can’t accept the (alleged) victim’s evidence as reliable,” she said.
“In this case, the (alleged) victim’s evidence shifted and changed … it got embellished, it got exaggerated.”
Mr Balapour smiled after he was cleared and left court with his wife and their baby.
He has gained a cult following online and previously made headlines when he posted a nude photo with only a cartoon pizza slice covering his nether regions.
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